After Wayne State vaulted out to an early 14-0 lead over Northern Michigan on Oct. 11, it looked as if the Warriors were going to annihilate the Wildcats.
And when Jordan Kidd forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, it was almost a certainty that WSU would bury NMU with a touchdown.
Or at least it seemed.
But Kevin Smith’s pass to receiver David Mosely in the back of the endzone was a bit too deep, carrying Mosely out-of-bounds and forcing a field goal attempt from kicker David Chudzinski. Sure, Chudzinski drilled the kick for a 17-0 lead, but that missed opportunity represented a flaw in the Warriors that will hold them back from attaining their ultimate goal – the playoffs.
It’s the lack of a killer instinct, the ability to go for the jugular and bury a team the first time they have the chance.
This isn’t the first time it has happened, either. Go back to the Findlay game: 28-0 in the first half, followed by an elongated second half in which the Oilers were one big play away from making it a ballgame.
But let’s chalk that one up to playing on the road — in a homecoming game no less — and say that Findlay had the motivation to not get embarrassed in front of the home fans.
At Adams Field, however, it must be different.
“We talk about it all the time,” coach Paul Winters said after Wayne State’s 24-10 victory over Northern Michigan. “It’s our house, no one comes in here and beats us and we have to make it so no one even wants to come here and play us.”
And that is where the lack of domination plays a role.
Sure Northern Michigan lost, but they can point at little areas that cost them a road victory, whereas a complete and utter tromping would have left them with numerous questions.
But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Maybe this team is still learning how to finish ball games in the same manner in which they start them.
If that is indeed the case, well, it has sufficed up until this point. Next week, however, could be a much different story. If Wayne State plays the same way it did in the second and third quarters against NMU, they will have no shot, especially playing in Big Rapids. The same can be said for the upcoming Hillsdale game at home, and for the season-ending clash with Grand Valley State.
The Warriors need (and let me reiterate “need”) to finish games in the opposite way I will end this column — with an exclamation point — as opposed to a period.
